José Rodríguez
@josecrodriguez.bsky.social
Geodesy. GGOS. Alma mater: shooting lasers at satellites.
Pinned
Let’s talk about the Global Geodesy Supply Chain.
“The what?”
Exactly...
But first things first: geodesists have such a hard time explaining what is it they do. It’s like a curse.
“That’s, uhm, like kind of geology or something? Rocks and stuff right?"
Not quite. The geo bit is right though!
“The what?”
Exactly...
But first things first: geodesists have such a hard time explaining what is it they do. It’s like a curse.
“That’s, uhm, like kind of geology or something? Rocks and stuff right?"
Not quite. The geo bit is right though!
Reposted by José Rodríguez
You know about Pavlov's bell.
Pavlov grabbed some dogs, rang a bell before feeding them, and eventually the dogs started to salivate when the bell rang, regardless of whether they were given food or not.
Now, let's say you studied the brain activity of those dogs. 🧵
Pavlov grabbed some dogs, rang a bell before feeding them, and eventually the dogs started to salivate when the bell rang, regardless of whether they were given food or not.
Now, let's say you studied the brain activity of those dogs. 🧵
September 21, 2025 at 12:39 PM
You know about Pavlov's bell.
Pavlov grabbed some dogs, rang a bell before feeding them, and eventually the dogs started to salivate when the bell rang, regardless of whether they were given food or not.
Now, let's say you studied the brain activity of those dogs. 🧵
Pavlov grabbed some dogs, rang a bell before feeding them, and eventually the dogs started to salivate when the bell rang, regardless of whether they were given food or not.
Now, let's say you studied the brain activity of those dogs. 🧵
Reposted by José Rodríguez
1/ What if a drug for anxiety disorder more likely makes you feel suicidal than help against anxiety? This was found for escitalopram in paediatric generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but it was nonetheless approved. Let me explain and summarize experiences with trying to get this corrected in a🧵
September 10, 2025 at 1:41 PM
1/ What if a drug for anxiety disorder more likely makes you feel suicidal than help against anxiety? This was found for escitalopram in paediatric generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but it was nonetheless approved. Let me explain and summarize experiences with trying to get this corrected in a🧵
Reposted by José Rodríguez
"Sweeteners can harm cognitive health equivalent to 1.6 years of ageing, study finds"
Or does it? Let's take a look at this "study"...
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/se...
Or does it? Let's take a look at this "study"...
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/se...
Sweeteners can harm cognitive health equivalent to 1.6 years of ageing, study finds
Researchers say low- and no-calorie sweeteners appear to affect thinking and memory in middle age
www.theguardian.com
September 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
"Sweeteners can harm cognitive health equivalent to 1.6 years of ageing, study finds"
Or does it? Let's take a look at this "study"...
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/se...
Or does it? Let's take a look at this "study"...
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/se...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
September 6, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Paris has removed the paving from its city hall square and transformed it into an urban forest. Stunning! 🤩
August 19, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Paris has removed the paving from its city hall square and transformed it into an urban forest. Stunning! 🤩
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Blog on the longstanding tendency to play down the dependence-inducing effects of psychiatric drugs, now playing out in two reviews that minimise antidepressant withdrawal effects based on flawed studies of short-term users www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
Antidepressant Withdrawal: Nothing to Worry About?
Recent reviews claim antidepressant withdrawal is clinically insignificant, but they are based on flawed and short-term studies. Minimizing withdrawal problems is worrying.
www.psychologytoday.com
August 20, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Blog on the longstanding tendency to play down the dependence-inducing effects of psychiatric drugs, now playing out in two reviews that minimise antidepressant withdrawal effects based on flawed studies of short-term users www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event
Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.
www.theatlantic.com
August 18, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
Reposted by José Rodríguez
"Maybe admitting that a widely used treatment, like antidepressants, has messed up thousands of lives is too much to contemplate" #pharmsky #medsky #madsky
Excellent summary of the ongoing controversy about antidepressant withdrawal issues by @joannamoncrieff.bsky.social
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
Antidepressant Withdrawal: Nothing to Worry About?
Recent reviews claim antidepressant withdrawal is clinically insignificant, but they are based on flawed and short-term studies. Minimizing withdrawal problems is worrying.
www.psychologytoday.com
August 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Has anybody both really watched the discussion and is aware of the evidence behind antidepressants? I doubt it.
Mental health conditions, like suicides & overdoses, are the leading underlying causes of maternal deaths in the US.
Antidepressants save women's lives—& they're safe.
So why is RFKJr's FDA hell-bent on undermining their use among pregnant & postpartum moms?
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Antidepressants save women's lives—& they're safe.
So why is RFKJr's FDA hell-bent on undermining their use among pregnant & postpartum moms?
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Is the FDA about to keep pregnant women from taking antidepressants?
A panel of experts repeated what one women's health expert called "MAHA talking points."
www.motherjones.com
July 28, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Has anybody both really watched the discussion and is aware of the evidence behind antidepressants? I doubt it.
Reposted by José Rodríguez
I'm going to be honest here, I think AI is going to do so much damage to the usable internet that even after it's inevitably crashes out, it's going to take years to disentangle from every space it's polluted, like digital asbestos it's gonna be time consuming effort and likely expensive venture.
I think AI is going to eventually tank in the longterm, but...
the only real way to combat this is single-interest communities. Forums, user comms, etc, with a barrier to entry. They become trustable knowledgebases. It's really the only way forward is to return to what worked best the first time
the only real way to combat this is single-interest communities. Forums, user comms, etc, with a barrier to entry. They become trustable knowledgebases. It's really the only way forward is to return to what worked best the first time
June 24, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I'm going to be honest here, I think AI is going to do so much damage to the usable internet that even after it's inevitably crashes out, it's going to take years to disentangle from every space it's polluted, like digital asbestos it's gonna be time consuming effort and likely expensive venture.
Reposted by José Rodríguez
When LLM's commit "crimes," there's never a motive. Yet the press & industry assert the "black box" frame at the wrong level of AI: suggesting moral decision-making, rather than the hidden logic of flipping neurons. My latest in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...
The Black Box Myth: What the Industry Pretends Not to Know About AI | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Eryk Salvaggio says it's a problem is that those of us outside of the AI industry don’t know what rules they are following.
www.techpolicy.press
June 17, 2025 at 1:16 PM
When LLM's commit "crimes," there's never a motive. Yet the press & industry assert the "black box" frame at the wrong level of AI: suggesting moral decision-making, rather than the hidden logic of flipping neurons. My latest in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
INVESTIGATION: 7% of England -3.8m people- have been on antidepressants for > 5 years 💊
While effective for some, long term use carries risks + raises chances of withdrawal when stopping, leaving some feeling "trapped" on the drugs @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
While effective for some, long term use carries risks + raises chances of withdrawal when stopping, leaving some feeling "trapped" on the drugs @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
A generation of women over 50 stuck taking antidepressants
A quarter of women in their fifties and sixties take antidepressants, and 15 per cent of women over 50 have been on them for longer than five years
www.thetimes.com
June 15, 2025 at 10:47 AM
INVESTIGATION: 7% of England -3.8m people- have been on antidepressants for > 5 years 💊
While effective for some, long term use carries risks + raises chances of withdrawal when stopping, leaving some feeling "trapped" on the drugs @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
While effective for some, long term use carries risks + raises chances of withdrawal when stopping, leaving some feeling "trapped" on the drugs @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Everybody getting mad about this needs to actually read TFA: archive.ph/iR2Ba If you are one of the 40% of people who get debilitating side effects on a standard taper off psych meds -- which the founder was! -- and you ask your doctor for a custom program, they are going to give you a 🤷♀️.
June 11, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Everybody getting mad about this needs to actually read TFA: archive.ph/iR2Ba If you are one of the 40% of people who get debilitating side effects on a standard taper off psych meds -- which the founder was! -- and you ask your doctor for a custom program, they are going to give you a 🤷♀️.
Reposted by José Rodríguez
📣 We’re live! Check out the brand new #IAG website 👉 geodesy.science
🌍 Making #Geodesy more visible, accessible & connected. Focusing on #Geodesy 📰 News, 📅 Events, 💼 Jobs, 👥 Member. More info ⬇️ geodesy.science/2025/new-iag...
🌍 Making #Geodesy more visible, accessible & connected. Focusing on #Geodesy 📰 News, 📅 Events, 💼 Jobs, 👥 Member. More info ⬇️ geodesy.science/2025/new-iag...
June 4, 2025 at 4:47 AM
📣 We’re live! Check out the brand new #IAG website 👉 geodesy.science
🌍 Making #Geodesy more visible, accessible & connected. Focusing on #Geodesy 📰 News, 📅 Events, 💼 Jobs, 👥 Member. More info ⬇️ geodesy.science/2025/new-iag...
🌍 Making #Geodesy more visible, accessible & connected. Focusing on #Geodesy 📰 News, 📅 Events, 💼 Jobs, 👥 Member. More info ⬇️ geodesy.science/2025/new-iag...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
This statement about the transphobic Supreme Court ruling by the UK's Crab Museum (yes a museum about crabs) is better than 99% of the statements I've seen on the topic
www.crabmuseum.org/visit
🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
www.crabmuseum.org/visit
🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
April 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
This statement about the transphobic Supreme Court ruling by the UK's Crab Museum (yes a museum about crabs) is better than 99% of the statements I've seen on the topic
www.crabmuseum.org/visit
🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
www.crabmuseum.org/visit
🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
Reposted by José Rodríguez
For my Patreon post this week, I wrote about why TERFs are still complaining about not having friends. www.patreon.com/posts/you-ha...
You have no friends because you're a transphobic asshole | Katelyn Burns
Get more from Katelyn Burns on Patreon
www.patreon.com
April 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
For my Patreon post this week, I wrote about why TERFs are still complaining about not having friends. www.patreon.com/posts/you-ha...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
𝗡𝗼, 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝟮-𝟭𝟴𝗯'𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
K2-18b is back in the news, now with a bold claim that biosignature molecules (DMS and/or DMDS) have been 'detected at 3σ'.
Most exoplanet astronomers are extremely sceptical about these claims, let's see why (1/n).
🔭🧪🪐 #exoplanet
K2-18b is back in the news, now with a bold claim that biosignature molecules (DMS and/or DMDS) have been 'detected at 3σ'.
Most exoplanet astronomers are extremely sceptical about these claims, let's see why (1/n).
🔭🧪🪐 #exoplanet
April 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM
𝗡𝗼, 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝟮-𝟭𝟴𝗯'𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
K2-18b is back in the news, now with a bold claim that biosignature molecules (DMS and/or DMDS) have been 'detected at 3σ'.
Most exoplanet astronomers are extremely sceptical about these claims, let's see why (1/n).
🔭🧪🪐 #exoplanet
K2-18b is back in the news, now with a bold claim that biosignature molecules (DMS and/or DMDS) have been 'detected at 3σ'.
Most exoplanet astronomers are extremely sceptical about these claims, let's see why (1/n).
🔭🧪🪐 #exoplanet
Reposted by José Rodríguez
👉 We invite you to get acquainted with the 🌎 Global Geodetic Observing System #GGOS by reading the latest paper published by the GGOS Executive Committee, more information available at: ggos.org/2025/04/10/p...
New Paper Highlights the Power of Geodesy to Support Science and Society |
The global geodetic community has come together to address one of the most pressing needs of our time: monitoring the dynamic Earth system. A new peer-reviewed article, “The Global Geodetic […]
ggos.org
April 10, 2025 at 5:49 AM
👉 We invite you to get acquainted with the 🌎 Global Geodetic Observing System #GGOS by reading the latest paper published by the GGOS Executive Committee, more information available at: ggos.org/2025/04/10/p...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
A fantastic article the in the Institute of Navigation newsletter on something else of societal importance, held together only by norms and fraying international agreements:
The invisible global infrastructure supporting GPS and other satnav systems.
The invisible global infrastructure supporting GPS and other satnav systems.
April 4, 2025 at 11:19 PM
A fantastic article the in the Institute of Navigation newsletter on something else of societal importance, held together only by norms and fraying international agreements:
The invisible global infrastructure supporting GPS and other satnav systems.
The invisible global infrastructure supporting GPS and other satnav systems.
Reposted by José Rodríguez
At @globalvoices.org, we have set a new LLM/"AI" policy globalvoices.org/2025/03/07/g...
Global Voices’ policy on AI
In keeping with our mission and values, we will not publish articles, translations or illustrations that are produced entirely or mainly through LLMs or other generative AI tools.
globalvoices.org
March 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
At @globalvoices.org, we have set a new LLM/"AI" policy globalvoices.org/2025/03/07/g...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines?
Jevin West (@jevinwest.bsky.social) and I have spent the last eight months developing the course on large language models (LLMs) that we think every college freshman needs to take.
thebullshitmachines.com
Jevin West (@jevinwest.bsky.social) and I have spent the last eight months developing the course on large language models (LLMs) that we think every college freshman needs to take.
thebullshitmachines.com
INTRODUCTION
thebullshitmachines.com
February 4, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines?
Jevin West (@jevinwest.bsky.social) and I have spent the last eight months developing the course on large language models (LLMs) that we think every college freshman needs to take.
thebullshitmachines.com
Jevin West (@jevinwest.bsky.social) and I have spent the last eight months developing the course on large language models (LLMs) that we think every college freshman needs to take.
thebullshitmachines.com
Reposted by José Rodríguez
DeepSeek hot take: The emperor still has no clothes, but it's very distressing to the emperor that their non-clothes can be made so much more cheaply.
January 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
DeepSeek hot take: The emperor still has no clothes, but it's very distressing to the emperor that their non-clothes can be made so much more cheaply.
Reposted by José Rodríguez
i'm reluctant to post this because the overuse of "rhetorical quotations" is one of the "big tells" right now and they're going to "fix it" and "make everything worse"
qwantz.com/index.php?co...
qwantz.com/index.php?co...
December 28, 2024 at 2:50 PM
i'm reluctant to post this because the overuse of "rhetorical quotations" is one of the "big tells" right now and they're going to "fix it" and "make everything worse"
qwantz.com/index.php?co...
qwantz.com/index.php?co...
Reposted by José Rodríguez
In "A Critique of Pure LLM Reason" I asked why tech evangelists are so angry about the "Stochastic Parrot" framing, and answered their questions about so-called reasoning models - "Could a stochastic parrot do THIS?" Spoiler: Yes, yes it can. mail.cyberneticforests.com/a-critique-o...
A Critique of Pure LLM Reason
It's Parrots, All The Way Down
mail.cyberneticforests.com
November 25, 2024 at 2:11 PM
In "A Critique of Pure LLM Reason" I asked why tech evangelists are so angry about the "Stochastic Parrot" framing, and answered their questions about so-called reasoning models - "Could a stochastic parrot do THIS?" Spoiler: Yes, yes it can. mail.cyberneticforests.com/a-critique-o...